This also helps you find members willing to help, including covering you in case you are sick etc. the day off

Ideally, this would be brought up for discussion at the Monthly Member Meeting. If not, you can seek input on the discussion mailing list.

If you have never taught a class before and need some help formulating a plan, talk to Tracy, Ian, or Tom, who are all experienced teachers, and/or attend the next "How to Teach a Class" class (check the calendar; there's one scheduled for February 28, 2012 and there'll be more after that).

Thing to determine:

Where will this be held?

In the wonderful world of FamiLAB 10x, most classes can and should be held at the lab, but if it would work better somewhere else, that's cool too.

If you want to hold at Cloudspace, you need to ask Dan L. if he will host. Please don't expect this - this is a very cool thing he does for us, but there are limits.

Is this a class or a workshop? This is about proper expectation setting for the attendees

Class = instructor that is presenting information and agreeing to help all students individually gain the knowledge.

Workshop = Group session, someone will demonstrate or show the highlights, everyone working together

Is the public invited?

Are your guests expecting food?

How many people will have to bring food for it to be enough?

Who will pay this food?

Will the lab be cleaned before this event?

Who is cleaning it?

Are there materials required?

How much will these cost?

Do we have to hit a certain quantity for discounts?

How much risk is there in ordering these parts before tickets are sold?

Do course materials - slides, etc. Already exist for this? If not, who will create them?

Will you need a projector?

Once you've sought member input on the idea, and thought through the above, contact the group that administers classes at FamiLAB

You can use the classes@familab.org email alias which goes to this group

Rehearse your presentation and make sure you have everything you need - slides, materials, backup plans (what if the projector explodes 5 minutes before class?) etc.

If it is at Cloudspace, remind Dan L. that he needs to be there to let you in!

Send a reminder email - EventBrite does this automatically, but for certain classes, like the Arduino class, we send a special reminder asking them to bring a laptop, download the IDE, bring the correct hardware, etc.

If it is at the lab, please arrive early to make sure everything is the way you want it - clean, organized and laid out for your class.